Wonders of the American West
Day Two – 30 May 2011
Moab
Weather: 21 Sunny with some cloud
I managed not to wake at four but I did wake before my alarm. I went out for a walk after sunrise and watched the light move down the side of the mesa in the west. It was a beautiful morning for a walk.
I had breakfast which was a little better than the Marriott. Eggs weren’t made to order but they had more selection. Could not beat the seating for breakfast.
We boarded the bus at 8 and headed to Canyonlands National Park.
This was a park that not a lot of tourists visit – maybe 300,000 a year. Most go to Arches which sees three times the number of visitors (but the Grand Canyon gets four times as many as Arches). The drive took us through a long valley with steep canyons on either side and the Colorado River to our right.
With the sun low in the sky behind us, the light was nice.
We made a couple of photo stops along the way and arrived at the Canyonlands visitor centre after an hour or so. There we were shown a short video on the park which spoke about the three sections of the park – Island in the sky (the most accessible), Needles (less accessible) and the Maze which is very inaccessible. We won’t be going there.
We drove to a lookout called Island in the Sky which gave us a spectacular view of Needles and hundreds of square miles of canyons.
A park ranger gave us a half hour talk about the park and the man who first explored and mapped the area – John Wesley Powell.
He showed us the various layers, explaining how encroaching seas deposited successive levels of sediment with the harder materials eroding more slowly, leaving behind the formations in Needles.
He also passed around a rock with a fossil in it.
After the talk, we drove to the Mesa Arch. It was a ten minute walk in to see the Arch and we were finding the surroundings as amazing as the rocks. Cactus flowers, driftwood and knarled trees. Beautiful.
Mesa Arch was quite large.
The view through the arch was fabulous.
People were climbing and walking across the arch.
Remember, this ancient,eroding arch was at the edge of a sheer drop that went down hundreds of feet.
Talk about tempting Darwin.
I’ll add that to my collection of “People risking their lives for a photo.” Or dumb things people do on vacation like this one from Canyonlands.
Granted, this one wasn’t as scary as it looked. There was a ledge below. But miss that and it would be bye-bye.
Gordon gave us twenty minutes to take pics then herded us back to the bus for the drive to Moab for lunch and shopping. I tried to power nap but it was hard to close your eyes given the spectacular scenery. There was always something to see and the very few times we came across a sprawling plain was the time to take a power nap.
Moab is a small town of five thousand. Gordon dropped us off and gave us a couple hours to eat lunch and shop. Since it was Memorial Day, the restaurants were not fully staffed and it took a few tries to find a place where we could get a quick meal. There wasn’t any fast food close by.
Gordon gathered us up and it took about forty minutes to get back to the hotel through the same gorge we took going to Canyonlands.
Back at the hotel, we were given two hours before we had to leave for the jet boat ride, the only optional on the tour. Gordon hadn’t collected payment for it at this point. He said he’d do it later. That gave people the option to opt out at the last minute, which was nice.
Actually, I think he didn’t take money because the Visa machine didn’t work out there. No signal.
I went for a short walk along the river bank before the jet boat ride…until the trail led into the Colorado River. Remember all that snow that Gordon was happy about? Well, they were expecting a century flood if what was left in the mountains melted quickly. That could raise the river up to three metres. My room might survive. The cabins further down the road are already only a few feet above the water. No doubt they would flood.
So, I turned around and went back to my room to get ready for dinner. They expected it to be cold on the boat, so I wore jeans, long sleeve t-shirt, fleece, rain jacket and gloves (which later I could have auctioned off for the cost of this tour.)
It was about twenty-five minutes through the same gorge to the jet boat company called Canyonlands By Day and Night. We were matched up with a Trafalgar group and started off with dinner. It was the usual tourist mass feeding with salad, corn, cowboy beans, potatoes, chicken and ribs.
Cheesecake was dessert. Good thing there were no weigh scales in the hotel.
After dinner, we headed to the jet boat. The Trafalgar group got the jump on us and took all the water side seats, leaving the middle ones for us.
I managed to get one at the open back area, but after I sat down, I noticed that some from our tour were still on the dock and the boat was full. Someone pointed to another boat, so we asked “can we go with them?”
Best five words of the day.
We got a smaller boat and a comedian boat driver named Andrew.
We settled into the boat and pushed off. I had heard some people who said they didn’t want to take this optional cause they didn’t want to be in a jet boat. They were thinking of the fast ones like you see in New Zealand.
Nope. Not these boats, as you can see from the photos. They were just normal large capacity speed boats. No crazy twists or turns.
Andrew started the boat and got us into the middle of the wide, fast moving river then shut off the engine and walked up to the front of the boat as we drifted downstream. He said they were a green company and that this was their version of a hybrid. No gas used going downstream. Gas to get us back. LOL.
Actually, a grumpy resident got an injunction that prohibits them from using their engines as they pass her house.
As we drifted, Andrew started to give us a safety briefing then hesitated. We asked, “is that it?”
He laughed, not expecting to have such a great crowd. He just did a four hour cruise with a grumpy group.
But he said they were better than the French tourists he usually gets. They just stare at him.
So, he continued with the safety message, picking up a life jacket. He said there was a life jacket for everyone in the boat….and “this is it.”
Heh.
He smiled and said that if you’re over the age of thirteen, the state of Utah doesn’t cares about you. Then he smiled and opened up the front hatch. He said there was twenty-four life jackets there and that they cost $5 each.
Now.
They will cost $500 if the boat started to sink.
He added that they’ve never touched water. One tourmate asked if any people have.
He loved our group.
Then he said “it’s flooding” and everyone’s eyes looked down.
Not the boat. The river, he said, shaking his head. Then he gave us the spiel on the expected flooding. After we had floated far enough, he started the engine and we took off.
We entered the gorge and he stopped the engine and pointed up at the Poison Spider Arch hundreds of feet above us.
Impressive!
For those of us on the right side of the boat.
He told the people on the left that they could look at our photos later.
Then he started the engine and turned the boat in a leisurely three-sixty so that the people on the left hand side didn’t get left out. As we drifted, he pointed to two people walking up a trail through all the eroded rock and said it was a jeep trail that was rated among the most difficult.
I asked if those people’s jeep had broken down.
Then a tow truck passed us on the other side of the river with a jeep on the back.
Andrew just shook his head and went back to the wheel and told us that the rising river was why there was so much driftwood in the water. He had to avoid as much as possible because it could get into the impellers. We moved a little farther down the river and he pointed to the sheer five hundred foot rock wall called Wall Street.
And this Wall Street was still in one piece.
He said it was a very popular climbing area and that every section of the cliffs were rated from one to five for difficulty and most are given names. He points to one and says it’s called “Compound Fracture Climb.” As we drifted, we saw climbers, including a teenage girl who was hanging from the top of a concave section.
We watched her lunge for the next hold and miss. She fell about ten feet before the rope stopped her.
When we all started breathing again, Andrew asked if we wanted to see a dead cow.
Well, sure. Why not?
We sped through the gorge at high speed and then slowed when we spotted the cow.
We’re tourists. We take pictures of everything.
He said this kind of thing happens all the time with the spring melt – cows, horses, sheep etc.
We continued on while Andrew pointed out different locations, like Long Canyon which stands in for the Grand Canyon in a lot of films because it’s easier to get film crews in there and easier to get permits. He listed a bunch of films including 127 Hours which was not only filmed there, but the actual events occurred not far away in the Canyonlands National Park.
Yes. Always make sure you tell people where you are going when you wander into the desert by yourself.
And bring a sharper knife.
Next, Andrew pointed out a huge boulder sitting at the top of the rock wall and said “you like that?”
We said yes and he replied with, “I made that.”
LOL.
Next was another arch. This one was unique in that it was on the side of the mountain and was called the Jug Handle Arch.
Andrew went to the side of the boat and picked up a plastic jug of oil and said that when he has French tourists, he just picks that up and points to the handle then the Arch.
They just stare at him.
A little farther up the river, we came across the Trafalgar boat and asked if they had seen the dead cow.
Nope. It wasn’t included with their tour.
Another benefit of travelling with Insight!
We turned around and Andrew pointed to a potash mine farther down the river. We have to do the four hour tour to see that.
We went back to the dock at high speed, striking something along the way. Andrew didn’t slow until we approach Ms. Grumpy’s house, but there was no going into hybrid mode as the current was going in the wrong direction, so we idled past her house on the other side of the river.
We were so impressed with him, a lot of us tipped his even though Insight included the tip. Strangely enough, it was an Australian tourmate who suggested that we do.
We got back to the hotel just as it was getting dark and Gordon gave us our timings for the next day. At that point, I wished I had brought my bathing suit because a dip in the hot tub sounded great.
Then Gordon said to wear our hiking shoes tomorrow.
Drat! The hot tub would have been awesome.
Go to Day Three
Go to Table of Contents